Future Aspirations
by VimesBeast
Summary: An encounter between young Henry Spencer and a little blue-eyed boy changes both their lives. Pre-Show for Ch.1, tag for 'Poker? I barely know her' for Ch.2
1. Future Aspirations

Title: Future Aspirations

Author: VimesBeast

Pairing: None

Rating: K

Genre: Family/Hurt/Comfort

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my mind.

**A/Notes: My first piece of fanfic ever! I'm not a native English speaker and I don't have a beta, all mistakes are mine. Took a lot of guts for me to post this. Please don't flame.**

**Future Aspirations**

Santa Barbara 1977

Henry doesn't know what made him stop his car in front of the old observatory. He is already late getting home from the station, and the drizzle is coming down stronger. It seems that the weatherman is right and a storm would hit this evening. Henry deliberates on whether or not he should check out the derelict edifice. He's driven past the thing everyday for the past three years and had never found it more interesting than at that moment. If he were a romantic, he would have considered it to be fate. But since the Spencers don't believe in that hocus pocus, Henry reasons that it's because his subconscious noticed something different about the building. Old abandoned buildings attract crime, and his policing skills must have picked up something tonight.

The Santa Barbara City Observatory-I was abandoned years ago when the astronomy society moved to the bigger and newer Observatory II. The city council never got around to demolishing the first site, and the building was left to the mercy of wind, rain and rust. Most of the observatory's metal roof had caved a long time ago, but its glass dome is still partially intact. Henry had always thought the dome was a dumb idea. True, it looks neat and modern for a scientific research center. But seriously, a transparent glass dome for a ceiling? Really? The whole thing just screams blown up snow globe to Henry.

Henry rests his hand on his belt holster as he gently pushes open the rusted door, not knowing what he would find in the room. A homeless man using the place as a shelter, some runaway teenager hiding from his parents, or maybe even a druggie with his dealer. But whatever Henry is anticipating, he never expects to see a little kid huddled in a corner, dirty, damp and slightly shivering. The wind is blowing hard now, and the broken windows offer little protection from the increasingly strong downpour outside.

The boy looks up at the door almost as soon as Henry caught sight of him. There is a flash of anticipation in the boy's eyes, but it soon turns to disappointment, then to awareness. The kid is young, 5,6 years old tops, but the careful guarded look on his face makes him seem more mature than he really is.

The boy takes in Henry's SBPD uniform before asking: "Who are you?"

"I'm a police officer. My name is Henry. What's yours? " Henry speaks quietly and clearly, and slowly approaches the boy, not wanting to spook him.

The boy considered his answer. "Dad calls me Allie."

Now that Henry is standing closer to the boy, he can tell that 'Allie' isn't a runaway or a street urchin. The boy is well dressed in a plaid button-up and jeans, and shows no sign of mistreatment. By the way Allie is quietly sitting on the floor and the expectant look on his face a moment ago, Henry can tell that the boy is waiting for someone. And judging by the smudges on his clothes and the slightly pale tint on his skin, the boy had been in the observatory for quite some time. The thought that the child was left there and abandoned in the old building made Henry's heart twist. He is going to be a father himself in 6 months time, and he knows that no child should be neglected like this. Henry promises himself to hurt the irresponsible asshole that did this when he finds him.

"Who are you waiting for Allie?"

"My dad." Henry resists the urge to growl. _Some dad the bastard is._

"Your dad? What kind of a irresponsible- How long have you been waiting here?"

Allie shrugs.

"Well it's cold out here. We should get you to somewhere warm. Come on." Henry signals the boy to stand up and follow him, but Allie doesn't move from his spot.

"Dad told me to wait. I'm not supposed to leave."

_Oh for goodness sake…_

"In case you haven't noticed, there's a storm coming tonight. It's obvious your dad isn't coming anytime soon." Henry regrets his words as soon as they leave him, and inwardly winces when he sees the boy's hurt look.

"Look, your dad's probably not going to make it in tonight, but he'd want you safe and out of the cold. So why don't we go into the station and call someone to pick you up?"

Allie's eyes flits back and forth between Henry and the door, as if expecting his father to walk in any minute. "But Dad said – achoo!" Following the sneeze, the boy gives a full-body shiver. At this point, Henry doesn't care what the kid's dad said, all he wants is to get the kid back to the station and into some dry clothes. Leaning down, Henry picks the boy up by the waist and slings him over his shoulder.

"Hey put me down!"

Ignoring Allie's half-hearted struggles, Henry carries the boy to his car and makes sure he's securely buckled up before getting into the driver's seat himself. The boy is absolutely fuming by now, but he doesn't flail around screaming or bawling his eyes out like other little children Henry has encountered. Instead, he just frowns like he had sucked on a packet of sour patch kids and glares at Henry with those clear blue orbs of his.

Henry turns his car around and heads for the SBPD. The trip back to the station is awkwardly silent, with only the sound of the pouring rain and his windshield wipers keeping the two of them company. Henry is getting unsettled though. Allie has turned away from him and is now observing the horizontal streaks the raindrops are making on his passenger-side window. But Henry knows Allie's attention is still on him, because he can see that Allie is stealing looks at him from the side window reflection.

Allie is a handsome child. With his pretty blue eyes and long lashes, Allie's features are almost feminine. But the honest, determined look in those eyes makes the receivers of that stare feel ashamed and obligated to confess his guilt. Even Henry who has been a cop for 3 years feels unreasonably guilty for upsetting the beautiful little boy.

"It's not that I don't believe your dad wasn't going to come. But you'd have gotten sick if you stayed in that snow globe any longer."

Allie shrugged and traced a finger on a particularly interesting rain streak. "I didn't like it in there anyway." He said emotionlessly. "It was cold."

"Why...What..." Henry tries to voice the question he had been meaning to ask all night.

"Why did your dad tell you to wait for him there?"

"There were people chasing us. He had to hide me."

Henry raises his eyebrows but determined the kid isn't lying.

"He said he'll come for me later." Allie said quietly, still not looking at Henry. "I don't know when 'later' is though. So I waited."

Hearing the boy's blind devotion towards his father, Henry feels his heart break a little. This ignorant father, who is obviously involved in some kind of criminal activity, definitely doesn't deserve a child like Allie.

"Why did you take me away from there?" For first time since he calmed down, Allie looks straight at Henry.

Without taking his eyes off the road, Henry answered. "Like I said, you'll get sick if you stay in the observatory. The place is dirty and drafty and you were shivering."

"But, why do you care?"

"Why? Because it's my job..." Henry had never questioned why he does his job. It had always been something he wanted to do. Something behind the concept of keeping the peace and making the streets safer to walk at night attracted him. But he had never had to voice the actual reasons for doing what he does. "That's what being a policeman is. I...put away bad men that hurt people. I stop bad things from happening. I make sure that people get what they deserve. It's justice. I protect people. " What Henry said sounds lame even to himself, but hopefully the kid will just leave it at that.

"You mean you stop people from feeling sad?"

"Um..." Henry had never seen his job that way, but somehow Allie's conclusion sounds just right to him. "Yes."

The boy straightens up in his seat and nods to himself, seemingly to have come to a decision. "I want to be a policeman when I grow up."

"Oh?"

"I don't like feeling sad."

Both passengers are left in silence until they reached the station. It is late in the evening, but car accidents and various emergencies caused by the storm is keeping the station busy.

"Is Chief Bowers in?" Henry asks the room, hustling in a wet and tired looking Allie.

Somewhere in the general confusion, someone answers. "No, but Detective Fenich is on duty tonight."

"Henry!" a voice calls from across the bullpen. "What are you doing back at the station?"

Head detective Fenich is a pleasant man in his mid-40s. While a stern detective, John Fenich is also a people person who likes to be on a first name basis with his officers. Henry has always found Fenich's friendly yet no-nonsense demeanor quite respectable.

"Uncle John!"

"Booker?"

Looking between the boy and the detective, Henry said, "I found this boy abandoned at the old observatory. Do you know him sir?"

Running a hand through Allie's hair, Fenich replied without looking up. "Yes, I know his mother."

"There were people chasing us uncle John. Dad had to hide me."

"Uh, I'll take over from here. Thanks Henry." Fenich interrupted, giving Henry a little smile. "You should call home. Maddie was worried why you weren't back yet. Threatened to come down here herself if you were working overtime and didn't let her know."

"I will sir, thank you."

Henry returns to his desk to call Madeleine, and wonders a little about Detective Fenich's evasiveness when Allie talked about his little adventure. _Well if Fenich doesn't want to tell, maybe it's not for me to know._

"Spencer residence."

"Maddie, it's Henry."

"Henry? Where are you? I called the station half an hour ago and they said you've left. Are you Okay?"

"I'm fine Maddie, I'm back at the station. Got caught up with something on my way home and had to come back. I'm leaving the station now."

"Well be careful. The storm is really coming in strong. Hurry home, I have exciting news for you. It's about the baby."

"Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes. I love you."

"I love you Henry."

Putting the handset back down, Henry looks toward the Head Detective's desk. Fenich is having a deep conversation over the phone while glancing at Allie from time to time. The boy is sitting in front of the detective's desk, engrossed in The California Penal Code 1977 Edition Vol.1. Looking at the reserved little boy, Henry feels a myriad of feelings rushing through him. For the first time in his life, Henry feels like he isn't doing his job.

_You stop people from feeling sad?_

Of all the ways he had sworn to serve and protect, he could not keep Allie from feeling sad. If Allie was kidnapped, he would hunt down the kidnappers and return him to his parents. If Allie was harmed, Henry could make sure his attackers are punished. But to be betrayed by someone you believe loved you unconditionally, is to fall victim to the biggest crime of all. And Henry couldn't fix that.

Before stepping out of the station, Henry looks back at the boy one last time. Sensing the officer staring at him, Allie looks up from his book and gives Henry a little thin-lipped smile and a wave. It was the smile that did Henry in. It said _despite how things are, I will be fine, and I will be strong_. It warmed and broke Henry's heart at the same time. He wanted to hug the boy until he squeezes all the sorrow out of him. But Henry couldn't do that. Allie is not his child, as much as he wishes him to be. It was in that moment that he decided that what he could not do for Allie, he will do for his own baby.

_I want to be a policeman when I grow up_

Henry will teach his son to be the best cop Santa Barbara has ever seen.

_I don't like feeling sad._

He will shower his child with attention and never leave his side. And with all his heart, he wishes his baby to stay happy and young for all time.

**End **

**(Maybe)**


	2. Birthday Boy

**A/N: Ch.2 is really a standalone story, but since it's related to the same event, I put it here. For everyone who liked my first chapter, I hope part 2 lives up to your expectations!**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Birthday Boy<span>**

Carlton A. Lassiter doesn't remember much of his childhood. Considering the circumstances, there probably wasn't much worth reminiscing anyway. Sometimes he's glad for his forgetfulness. To have a perfect memory and recall all the sweet lies and broken promises he's been told, would have been hell.

He remembers his 5th birthday though. That was the day he met his guardian angel. To be honest the angel only guarded him for 2 hours, but for Carlton that still counted for something.

Dad took the day off work for him; he wanted to take Carlton fishing. Fishing in itself is a bore, but the thought that he could spend hours with his Dad without anyone or anything interrupting thrilled him to no end. Carlton remembered the two of them laughing and walking down the street, when suddenly they were dodging behind parked cars and rushing down alleyways, running from some evil shadow Carlton couldn't see. The next thing he knew, he was urged into a room with a glass dome and told to wait.

_'Stay here, I'll come back for you later.'_

_'OK.'_

Carlton promised his dad he would stay, and he did. He waited until the sun dropped from the horizon. And he waited until the evening chill set in. even when it started to rain outside, Carlton didn't budge. But it was dark in there, and it was cold. With the transparent ceiling over his head and the swirling rain constantly blown in through the broken windows, Carlton felt like he was trapped in a snow globe. He wanted out of there. But he had promised his dad he would stay.

He had felt panic starting to kick in when the door opened. _'Dad!'_ he had thought, but no. It turned out to be the next best thing, his personal hero with a badge and uniform.

Carlton never found out who his rescuer was. He is sure he was told a name, but for the life of him he couldn't remember it. He had pried through police files for information when he joined the SBPD, but nothing came up. There were no paperwork involving his father's name and no missing children's reports that day. Only several accounts of road accidents and power shortages. He gave up looking after a while. He had Chief Fenich anyway, and Fenich is hero enough for him. Besides, it would have been awkward had he really found his rescuer. The man had probably helped out so many kids that he's forgotten Carlton. Seriously, how does he expect the him to react when Carlton tells him his childhood story? Clap the head detective on the back and say that he's proud of him? And, oh, we're having barbeque next Sunday with some friends, why don't you come along?

Nah. Like that would ever happen.

But today is Carlton's birthday, his 37th, and he would like something nice to happen. Even though he hadn't celebrated birthdays since he was 6. O'Hara was nice enough to plan a surprise party for him. He appreciates the sentiment, but having Santa Barbara's most vicious people come over to wish him happy birthday rather ruins the mood.

He had told O'Hara he doesn't care for birthdays. The fact is, he just doesn't like being reminded of it. He doesn't want to think that he could invite the whole world to celebrate the day of his birth, yet the man who conceived him would never come. Doesn't want to remember how he spent his last birthday celebration 30 years ago in the dark and the cold.

Carlton doesn't think of that right now. Right now he is busy packing and considering for a place to stay tonight. In case one of his birthday well-wishers decide he shouldn't live to see another birthday.

The detective is brought out of his thoughts by his ring tone. Hopefully it's not the Chief calling him in for another case. He's had enough excitement for the day, thank you very much.

"Lassiter"

"Carlton. I heard about your birthday surprise."

"Henry? Uh, yeah. It's no big deal, I got everything under control. But I'd have to avoid my house for a couple of day. "

"You got anywhere to stay?"

Besides packing, Carlton hadn't really figured out where to go tonight. "Not really."

"Why don't you come over? You can take Shawn's old bedroom."

"Um-"

"And tomorrow's Saturday, we can take the boat out for some bass first thing in the morning. Just you and me. No cases, no Shawn. How about it?"

The offer sounded tempting, and Carlton really didn't want to spend another birthday moping alone. "If it's not too much trouble…"

"Great! Oh, Shawn's skipping out dinner with me tonight, so I've got an extra steak on the grill. If you can make it here in 10 minutes you've got yourself a steak dinner."

Carlton had to smile. "I'll be there in 5."

"Good. Oh, and, Happy birthday Carlton."

"Thanks."

Hanging up his phone, Carlton has a feeling that birthday this year isn't going to be so bad after all.

**End**


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